Encore with the boys!!! Jan 16-19 (lots of pics and video of Encore Salon Suite)

Since the last trip report was over 4500 words...I thought I'd try and keep this one under 1000 words and instead give you lots of pictures and even a video tour of an Encore Salon Suite.

Two weeks ago was an anniversary trip with the fiancee...this trip was the "bachelor party" with 2 of my closest friends. I'm sorry to say there will be no reporting on strippers, clubs, etc because this was purely a gambling trip.


Friday
- Great Southwest flight...and a bundle of drink tickets I brought along made the 2+ hr flight go by FAST for our group!!!
- Paid $40 for a town car to take us by the liquor store and to Paris. My best man picked up a few bottles of booze and a bottle of Cristal to celebrate...which we didnt even open! DOH!
- Checked into comp room at Paris. One guy in our group is a Diamond so we ended up in in a P room. He received a call from his host (who he gave an earful to over the way she treated him about a year ago...telling him that "she had bigger fish to fry" when he was in town for his wedding) asking if there was anything she could do for him. He said we needed 2 beds (which is what we reserved) and only had 1. After much talking...we ended up in what I believe to be a Calais Suite (could've been LeMans) w/ an attached room. He was also given $1200 or so in cash for his stay (which he used elsewhere as he wasn't planning to actually play there at all). This was good until we played for a few hours at Encore and a host offered to move us over there for the weekend.
- After a late night dinner at Mushashi's (Japanese steakhouse on Paradise that I discovered a few weeks ago), we had our new found host @ Encore send us a Wynn limo (Wynn 26 to be exact) and we were checked into a 2 bed resort room (#3912 I believe) at about 1:30 AM. I was a bit beyond intoxicated at this point...so off to bed for me!

Saturday
- We woke up fairly early and ordered room service. The service was prompt but the food was pretty bland other than the hashbrowns. I was also bummed that "4 cups" of French press coffee gave me 1.5 cups! Oh...and Wynn/Encore DOESN'T CARRY SWEET'N LOW!!! I ran into the same thing 2 weeks ago and it's just as frustrating now.
- Down to the sportsbook to put in a few bets. As I did last trip, I played Wake Forest on the ML as a dog @ Clemson. WINNER!!! I took Oklahoma -3.5 @ A&M. WINNER!!! I parlayed Wake and OU for another WIN!!!I took UNC @ -16.5 (thank God I got it before it went to 17). WINNER!!! I took the Spurs -3 @ Chicago. WINNER!!! Before I knew it...I was 5-0 on games for the day. Time to hit the blackjack tables.
- For me, this was the night I've dreamed of at the table. The 3 of us sat down at a $25 table at Encore. On the first hand, our big player put $1000 out (all the $$ he had brought down from the room) and drew a blackjack. Everybody else at the table won their hand and it had the makings of a big night. I bought in for $200...and after 7 hours of play cashed out at about $2000. I had gone up to the room during our session and smartly took $600 out of play to buy some things for my fiancee. I was as high up as $3200 at one point before settling back down before we got up for the night.
- Next thing was a trip over to Wynn because the guys wanted to play $100 double deck. That was too high of a game for me to sit in...but I had 10 or so drinks in me (plus a bottle of 1990 Dom Perignon that the pit boss comp'd for us) and bought in for $500 anyways. 8 hands later and that was gone. Oh well...better get to bed before I do something else stupid!

Sunday
- On Sunday the plan was to bet/watch the 2 football games and then go play afterwards. I had Philly and Baltimore (though I felt really good about Pittsburgh but had said for 2 weeks I'd take Philly and Baltimore to the Super Bowl) so of course that didn't turn out well. There goes another $250 + juice down the drain.
- We had talked to our host about moving over to a Salon Suite so that we could watch the football games on the 65" TV in the room. He said he would take care of it for us. Well as of 9...and 10...and 11...and 11:30...the room still wasn't ready. The first game was starting at noon. Finally at 12:05 they called with our room and we moved over to 5906 in the Encore Tower Suites. At the bottom you'll find a video tour that I put together on Sunday night after clothes were tossed all over the place before we left town.
- That evening we spent some more time playing blackjack and ended up playing with former White Sox great Frank Thomas for a few hours. He was a really nice guy and was very cordial towards taking a minute to say hi to people that stopped by for a moment of his time.

Well that pretty much sums this one up...hope you enjoyed it. Below are some parting thoughts and then links to the video tours of the Salon Suite at Encore, the Calais/LeMans Suite @ Paris (waiting for video to upload on Youtube), and a few pictures (gallery currently uploading and will be linked later tonight.


Highlights
- I FINALLY WON some $$ at a Wynn property. Now granted I lost about $700 at Wynn (still haven't won a dime there) but I won roughly $1400 (drinks prevented me from having an exact total) at Encore. Throw in another $300 net win in sports bets and it was a VERRRY good weekend.
- Our host picked up our entire bill for the weekend...including the Salon Suite. Considering the only experience any of us had with hosts was at Harrah's where discretionary comps are all but non-existent...this was a VERY welcome experience.
- I had a great weekend with 2 of my closest friends and we somehow managed to stay out of trouble!

Lowlights
- Our big player lost A LOT of money at the tables which did put a bit of a damper on the trip on Sunday. Fortunately he made most of it back on sports bets but it still hurts.
- Service at Encore simply isn't up to par with the Wynn. Whether it's responsiveness to requests from housekeeping, in room dining, or waitresses...there's a lot left to be desired so far.
- The rooms at Encore, while very nice and having a lot of good features design wise, still have a bunch of quirks. Whether it's a poor TV mount or a non-working TV remote in a Tower Suite, a non-functioning blinds/sheers/lights controller or a non-working TV remote (again) in a resort room, or faulty lighting above the bed in a Salon Suite...I just continue to experience things in the rooms that doesn't hold up to the ridiculously high standards that were set (and that I've enjoyed) at the Wynn. However...if I continue to have similar financial success at the tables @ Encore I won't complain too much!

Encore Salon Suite

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Trip Pictures HERE!!!

 

wow!!!! that's cool to hear a host "stealing" ya'll away from another hotel and actually taking care of you, not a bunch of empty promises!!!!

 

Great job, thanks for posting.

 

Checking into Encore Sunday

I am really looking forward to checking out Encore myself. Thanks for the video.

 

Nice TR...sweet move on part of the host....and they took good care of you from the sounds of things.

 

what a great trip report, nice wins, and I love the video you posted!

 

Nice TR. Thanks for posting.

later, GVJ

 

added link to photo gallery above

 

That's a great time! Cool video and pics. I hope Beach Crazy doesn't see this. Would not like the mirrored ceiling though, too many people would see my bald spot. LOL

 

Great report. We are headed out there next week and I am very much looking forward to it. Where did you eat? I didn't see any mention of that. Can we get more details?

 

Other than Mushashi's on Friday night (another great meal IMO)...we ate at:

- Chipotle by Harrah's (it is what it is)
- Sugar and Ice at Wynn (absolutely horrible and I've had good experiences in the past)
- In 'n Out (it is what it is)
- room service from Encore x2
- Zoozacrackers at Wynn (just had soup)


I think that's about it

 

Nice TR, pics, and video!

 

Nice to see you won a little of your money back at one of Steve's properties. I'm going to have to wait till I get home to watch the video.

 

Excellent report! Nice to hear the comps seem to be loosening up at Wynn's properties along with the room rates.

 

Great report. Thanks for sharing!

 

That was great and the pics were awesome.
Those rooms are beautiful

 

The Salon Suite video was awesome. I may have to consider that for my retirement trip, whenever that is. Thanks for a great read!

 

great, great pics... super fun!

 

Nice High Roller report. Beautiful room. I didn't see a bidet. A suite like that should have one. Did it? Thanks for posting.

 

No there wasn't a bidet. I guess Steve Wynn has moved beyond them.